Fear index surges 23% as KOSPI plummets every day... Market capitalization broke 5 trillion won

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kwak Yuna = The KOSPI 200 Volatility Index (VKOSPI), a Korean-style fear index, is soaring by more than 23% on the 13th.

Due to the sharp decline that continues every day, the KOSPI market capitalization fell to 40 trillion won in two and a half months.

As of 1 p.m. on this day, the KOSPI index is recording 5,976.34, down 407.90 points (6.39%) from the previous day.

The index opened at 6,186.08, down 198.16 points (3.10%) from the previous day, but the decline increased and eventually returned to the 6,000 level.

Immediately after opening, the KOSPI selling sidecar (suspension of program trading ask price effect) was activated for the first time in about two months since August 19th.

The KOSDAQ index also recorded 818.60, down 30.59 points (3.6%) from the battlefield, barely holding on to the 800 range.

VKOSPI, known as the Korean-style fear index, is currently at 50.24, up 23.35% from the previous day.

The increase rate is the highest since March 4 (27.61%). This means that investors believe that market volatility will be high in the future.

As of today, the KOSPI market capitalization stands at 4,929 trillion won. If the market closes like this, the KOSPI market cap will fall below the 5 trillion won mark for the first time in about two and a half months since July 30th.

The plunge in Samsung Electronics [005930] and SK Hynix [000660], which account for nearly half of the KOSPI market capitalization, appears to have had a significant impact.

On this day, Samsung Electronics fell 7.88% compared to the previous day, and SK Hynix fell 8.94%, showing weakness for the 5th trading day.

If KOSPI closes weakly on this day, it will fall for five trading days for the first time since December 24, 2024 to January 2, 2025.

When the index falls day after day, the usual trend of an attempt to rebound in the near future with a counter-buying force is not seen this time.

Rather, the decline is intensifying. The daily decline rates of KOSPI from the 6th to the day before were 0.89%, 1.98%, 2.62%, and 3.65%.

Seo Sang-young, managing director of Mirae Asset Securities, pointed out, "(The decline in Asian stock markets, including Korea's) is due to a combination of concerns about the profitability of artificial intelligence (AI) investment and a reduction in the proportion of global risk assets."

Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "Foreigners have already net sold about 200 trillion won in the KOSPI this year, and the selling trend has continued this month." He added, "For stock prices to rebound, changes in foreign supply and demand, the U.S. long-term interest rate and domestic discount rate, and next year's semiconductor profit estimates must be maintained or raised."